Daily News Notes:

· Deepawali, the festival of lights, smbolises the removal of darkness and gloom and bringing happiness, peace and prosperity in the life of people. Reports received by some intelligence agencies that militants may try to strike in busy markets has put the top brass of Security Forces and police on high alert. West Bengal celebrates Kali Puja on Diwali.
· The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs(CCEA), has approved setting up 15 new Mega Food Park Projects(generate about 40,000 jobs, implemented in a market driven manner) under the Infrastructure Development Scheme, and will result in creation of state of the art infrastructure in major parts of the country with efficient supply chain management from farm gate to retail outlets.
· CCEA approved the proposal for the scheme of Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) with the World Bank assistance which will help to provide rehabilitation of 223 Dams in the States of Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Tamil Nadu along with Strengthening of the Dam Safety Organizations at national level in the Central Water commission.
· The government said that availability of coal with power stations is improving as the companies have been advised to ensure priority movement(via rail) of the dry fuel to them.
· The Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari will leave for Perth, Australia to represent India at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Issues like development, global financial crisis, climate change and dealing with terrorism jointly may also come up for discussions.
· Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has conducted simultaneous searches at various locations in Mumbai, Delhi, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh over the last weekend and apprehended ten people including a US citizen(Firdosh Mukaddam, a US green card holder) who were allegedly involved in the manufacturing and sending couriers of narcotics illegally shipped out in glucose and milk packets.
· The Supreme Court has ruled that land acquisition proceedings lapses if the government fails to make the award (the Collector is obliged to make an award) within the stipulated two years from the date of notification.
· The death toll in the building that collapsed in Bhiwandi in Thane district last evening, has risen to eight. Builder was given permission to construct only ground plus one structure but the he had illegally added two more floors and in March 2011, the building was declared unsafe and the residents were asked to vacate immediately but they continued to live in the building in spite of warnings.
· Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has accused the U.P. govt. for directly abetting embezzlement of funds meant for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act after referring 22 reports of the National Level Monitors which highlighted grave irregularities, and thus favored CBI inquiry.
· In Odisha, about 15 armed Maoists attacked a private construction company and set afire at least 25 vehicles used for road construction work. Senior police officials and CRPF jawans have rushed to the spot.
· A week after the crash of a MiG 29 fighter in Lahaul-Spiti valley in Himachal Pradesh, the wreckage of the plane and fate of the pilot is yet to be located during search operations by the IAF and National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA).
· In Kashmir valley, five persons have been injured today when unidentified militants hurled a grenade towards vehicle of police personnel on National Highway in Bijbehara town of Anantnag district.
· In Tunisia, Ennahda party has emerged as the single largest party in the elections.
· India has given over 34 cr nepali rupees for embankment construction along Lalbakeya, Bagmati and Kamala rivers in Nepal. As part of its commitment India has already disbursed around two arab thirty seven crore rupees for embankment construction along these three rivers.
· India has asked Australia to withdraw issuance of advisory for tourists travelling to India while Australia said that the advisories were "routine" advice and does not have any information of any specific threat to share with India. Such advisory note had also given to US tourist by their govt.
· NATO ambassadors are meeting in Brussels today to make a formal decision on ending the alliance's air campaign over Libya while National Transitional Council wants NATO to maintain its mission for at least another month.
· The United Nations General Assembly has voted (except Israel) to condemn the US economic embargo against Cuba for the 20th consecutive year while US diplomat called the embargo a bilateral issue between the United States and Cuba and said it is not a concern of the General Assembly and said that US is open to a new relationship with Cuba as soon as its government respects human rights and lets its people determine their own destiny.
· Computers at several of Japan's overseas diplomatic missions (computers at embassies and consulates in nine countries includes France, the Netherlands, Myanmar, the United States, Canada, China and South Korea) have been hit by cyber attacks(computer Virus), just a day after it was revealed the country's parliament had been targeted (hit by cyber attacks from a server based in China that left information exposed for at least a month).
· India extracted a sweet revenge when it thrashed England by 95 runs in the fifth and final cricket one-dayer in Kolkata last night, sweeping the five-match series, 5-0.
· Higher reaches of Uttarakhand (upper mountainous reaches of Chamoli and Pithoragarh districts) have received its first snowfall of the season.